Joel Santo DomingoGateway SX2840-01The Gateway SX2840-01 is an inexpensive Intel Core i3-powered multimedia-oriented desktop for the user that needs more power for photo or video projects. It's compact and has a decent group of features. However a bunch of bloatware and other omissions keep it from attaining the highest overall scores.

The Gateway SX2840-01 is an inexpensive Intel Core i3-powered multimedia-oriented desktop for the user that needs more power for photo or video projects. It's compact and has a decent group of features. However a bunch of bloatware and other omissions keep it from attaining the highest overall scores.

The new Core i3-530 processor shows up in the value-priced, small form factor Gateway SX2840-01 ($560 list). The Core i3-530 is a dual core Hyper-Threaded CPU that replaces the Intel Core 2 quad-core processor found in the previous Gateway SX2800 ($500 list, ) and SX2802 ($500 list, ) models. While the SX2840-01 looks identical to the two other Gateway systems on the outside, the system is totally revamped inside. It's a bit faster, aimed squarely at the budding photo and video enthusiast, and is a good choice for a home-theater PC. However, a plethora of bloatware and lack of Blu-ray hold it back from gaining a higher score.

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Design
The SX2840 chassis is unchanged from the previous models: Basically, it's an attractive, glossy black, plastic small form factor chassis with chrome accents. The front panel has a swinging door hiding the optical drive (a DVD burner in this case) and another door hiding the front USB ports, FireWire port, audio jacks, and the digital memory card reader. The door covering the ports feels a little flimsy, but it does the job. There's a tray built into the top of the unit (a rubber-lined depression), so you can rest your MP3 player, digital camera, or pocket-sized hard drive while it's connected to the system.

A cable guide integrated behind the tray helps keep cables out of the way, but there aren't any top-mounted USB ports. The guides make it more convenient for peripherals you've plugged into the back of the system, but top-mounted ports are still more convenient overall. There are a prodigious 9 USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire port, an eSATA port, a SPDIF port (digital audio), a VGA port, analog audio ports, and an HDMI port. That's a lot of connectors to hook up all your digital toys and your HDTV. The buttons on the front of the system include the power button, eject button for the optical drive, and a "PhotoFrame" button that displays photos from their digital media cards or Pictures folder on their hard drive.

Features
If not for a couple of drawbacks, the SX2840 would qualify as the perfect PC to hook up to a HDTV. On the plus side, the system comes with a DVD burner and 1TB hard drive. The hard drive is touted as a "green" one, and 1TB is plenty for storing home videos, photos, and music. The system has a little expandability, with an internal PCIe x1 and a PCIe x16 graphics card slot available. You could install an inexpensive half-height graphics card like the new ATI Radeon HD 5570 card in the PCIe x16 slot if you need more 3D power.

The system's 4 DIMM slots are full, so you'd have to take a couple out if you want to upgrade beyond the system's standard 6GB of memory. However, 6GB should be enough for most users. The system's Core i3 processor has Intel's GMA X4500HD graphics built into the chip. This means that now Intel's entry-level Core processors have HD-capable graphics built in. It will take a couple of years; this spells the end of the older Intel Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad processors.

There's also usual boatload of Gateway bloatware: Wild Tangent games, Microsoft Office 60-day trial, and a measly 60-day trial subscription to Norton Internet Security are the main culprits. The system comes with an ad-supported version of Microsoft Works, so the Office trial copy is unnecessary. The one case where it would be worth it is if you're just setting up a home business and need to buy a copy. Office is overpowered for schoolwork and light home use. While I'm griping, you really need more than just 60 days of updates for Norton Internet Security.

The SX4280-01 doesn't have built-in wireless networking, a must if you're connecting to an HDTV (think IPTV like hulu.com). At least you can add it later via USB or a PCIe x1 card.

Last, but not least, the system is touted as being HD video-capable, but there's no option for a Blu-ray drive. Adding a Blu-ray drive is key if you want the best quality HD video, because online videos are heavily compressed. While many people won't see the compressed video artifacts in a YouTube window, you will certainly see them when the video is blown up on a 55-inch HDTV. Viewing movies on Blu-ray is the best way to view every nuance in a film, short of watching it in IMAX in a theater.

Performance
The SX4280-01 is a good system to have if you're interested in creating your own multimedia content rather than just consuming it. The system's speedy Core i3-530 processor and 6GB DDR3 memory powered the SX4280 through our Windows Media Encoder (WME) test in 42 seconds, and our PhotoShop CS4 test in 1 minute 34 seconds. Both are extremely good scores compared with other mid-priced systems with scores between 0:41-1:17 for WME, and between 1:34-3:45 for CS4. In comparison, the Polywell Giada ION-100 ($450 list, ) nettop scored 3:13 for WME and 8:31 for CS4. The Giada is geared toward multimedia consumption, but the SX4280 is fast enough for a digital photo or video enthusiast to work on editing and conversion tasks without tearing his hair out. The new dual-core (but Hyper-Threaded) Core i3-530 processor is capable of processing 4 streams at once. Therefore the system can keep up with and sometime exceed systems with four physical cores in their processors.

The drawbacks of this system include the weak integrated graphics, which are fine for HD video, but underpowered for 3D gaming. The Core i3's integrated graphics are designed more for power-saving and HD video, rather than 3D prowess. The SX2840 wasn't able to complete our 3DMark and 3D gaming tests. You could probably play titles that have a light 3D load: MMORPGs like World of Warcraft and Sim games like Spore should be fine to play, but high-end action shooters like Crysis and BioShock 2 ($59.99 street, )are out of the question. Look for a low- to mid-range graphics card to fill the system's graphics expansion slot if you want to dabble in 3D gaming.

The SX4280 is a very good day-to-day performer. It led the pack in the PCMark Vantage test, with a score of 6,733 points. PCMark measures the system's day-to-day performance on multimedia tasks, light gaming, office tasks, and online browsing performance. The nearest competitor scored a thousand fewer points on PCMark Vantage. The SX4280 should last you and your family four to six years before it becomes "too slow."

The SX2840 has more features and is more expandable than more "compact" systems like the Apple Mac mini (2.26GHz Core 2 Duo) ($599 direct, ) and and Polywell Giada ION-100. On the other hand, it's more compact and powerful than full towers like the Compaq Presario CQ5320f ($400 list, ), Dell Inspiron i570-6939PBK ($600 list, ), and HP Pavilion a4327c-b ($600 list, ). The SX4280 is a better performer at the benchmark tests than all of the above dual-core systems. The quad-core powered HP Pavilion p6310f ($600 list, ) and Gateway SX2802-01 ($500 direct, ) are within the same range on the multimedia benchmark tests. However, as stated above, the presence of bloatware and the lack of a Blu-ray option keep the SX2840-01 from earning a higher score. The $600 Dell Inspiron i570-6939PBK comes with a 20-inch monitor and is a better choice for the person that needs to completely replace a system or buy their first home PC. Nonetheless, the Gateway SX2840-01 should be on your short list of mid-priced PCs.

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Joel Santo Domingo is the Lead Analyst for the Desktops team at PC Magazine Labs. He joined PC Magazine in 2000, after 7 years of IT work for companies large and small. His background includes managing mobile, desktop and network infrastructure on both the Macintosh and Windows platforms. Joel is proof that you can escape the retail grind: he wore a yellow polo shirt early in his tech career. Along the way Joel earned a BA in English Literature and an MBA in Information Technology...
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